marvel g400 tv tuner problem

[marian vicena]

I just bought Marvel G400-tv and I have problem
with it. The instalation went pretty smoothly and all the 2d graphics
looks great, but I'm having problem with TV tuner. I'm using the
original drivers and after instalation of vidtools I received very
ugly message about my marvel box not being connected. I checked the
cable and it is connected to my card as well as the box. Marvelbox
does seem to have tv tuner inside.

I'm desparate about this, because all the christmas now and only lot
of nerves put into this matter. :-(

Anyway, I'm using win98.

I hope I will hear from you soon with help. I live in Slovakia, but I
don't think this would be the problem.

Sincerely,
Marian Vicena

If any reply, please post it to my personal email vicky@ultranet.sk. Thank you.

[Bixler]

You probably just need to set up your Marvel tuner configuration and
TV/Video output for the TV system that you use--I assume it is PAL--if
not PAL it will be SECAM. Go into your video tools and check through
all of the tabs on your configuration setup--there will be many
different tabs such as "Video" "Audio" "Capture" "TV Tuning" etc. Look
for any options where you select between NTSC, PAL or SECAM, and select
the proper display format for the broadcasting system your country
uses..

You've also double posted to the forum--go back in and delete your other post, or there will be mass confusion as people reply.

[Bixler]

If the message you are getting says the Breakout Box, or BOB (what you call the Marvel Box) isn't connected to the video card, my advice about configuration above won't help. All I can advise is that you carefully recheck all connections--If you are getting Video display, and your Monitor is plugged in (as it should be) to the Marvel AGP Video card, the next physical connection to check is the big, fat cable coming from the 'Marvel Box' that also connects back to the AGP Video card.--Check that connection VERY carefully, and make sure it's secure. The only thing that remains after that is to make sure that you have properly connected your Broadcast or Cable television source into the 'Marvel Box', following advice about proper TV format as previously posted.

[Bixler]

OK Marian:

I'm starting to look like an idiot here, because I'm posting, and you're not. We have a 'forum' so that everyone can learn, and others can watch the advice given and keep you straight. Reply to my questions on the forum and I'll stay with you until we figure your problem out--probably minor, or you've got a dead BOB.

Following is a copy of e-mail from me to Marian in case anyone else is lurking and wants to weigh in.

To answer your question Marian,
I've got an earlier generation of the Marvel, the G200tv, but it's my understanding that the basic layout and funcionality is the same. I'm 99 percent sure that you have a relatively simple configuration problem or it's just a bad physical connection.

Another suggestion--check for bent pins on the BOB connector. That happened to me once on a monitor and took weeks to figure out.

If you don't have the audio in and audio out cables plugged in properly to your sound card, you could very well be generating the error message. Reply back (On the Forum) with the exact text of the error message. I'll be glad to help you work through this.

One more stupid question--do you have ANY
other video card hooked to the system? Post a list of your components--what brand of Computer, and what else is plugged in--what type of sound card--any pertinent details about how your system is put together. Also post what used to be in your machine prior to installing the Marvel. Did you UNINSTALL the drivers for your old card?

Be patient--it took me a couple of tries to get everything working right on mine the first time around. You've bought a neat little gizmo, but it's high performance (which means verrrry touchy about everything else in the computer being just so-so) so will need some care.

Post to the Forum! You will find that if your message stays 'alive' (replied to) for a time or two, some very knowlegeable people will weigh in to help. In the meantime I'll double check the physical connections/layout on my Marvel in about 2 hours (when I get home for the evening) and post to you
a step by step troubleshooting procedure.

[Bixler]

Marian:

I checked my config just now, and it makes no difference if your audio in/out cables are connected.

Matrox Quick connect program gave no error messages with the a/v cables pulled out of my machine--obviously not the problem then.

Question:

Using "quick connect" Matrox program, do you get any response when testing the 'TV tuner" option? (this is under Start/Programs/Matrox Video tools/Quick Connect) Do you see a TV picture when shown the little picture box? (of course, tuning to a working tv channel?)

Or are you not able to get that far?

Post the EXACT error message you get when all goes wrong.

------------------
AMD K6II 333
on SOYO SY5EMA
128M 8ns PC100 SDRAM
Marvel G-200 TV
w/DVD HW Card
Promise Ultra 66 HDD Controller
Win 98--running 98 Lite
(A GREAT program)

[GinoCyber]

Who you talkin to Bix ?

Is the error message "Tv tuner not detected"?

Ciao

[marian vicena]

cinocyber> he is talking to me....

------------------
M.Vicena
vicky@ultranet.sk

[Bixler]

GinoCyber:

Have been working with Marian through ICQ, and trying to coax her and a few more heavyweights into this thread.

Marian: Go back and read the questions asked and POST HERE your specs, answers, and error messages--not just to me on ICQ. Fora like this are here so that others can observe, learn, and help. Kinda like an ugly form of Democracy .

[marian vicena]

So, I try the card in different computer and i works fine there. I'm already decided to reinstall my windows from scratch, so I'm pretty sure it was just some kind of software problem... thanx for your help.. I'll let you know the result.

by the way, I'm a male.

[Bixler]

by the way, I'm a male.

Woops! Sorry Good to know.

Before you go too much further inside your machine, go to the Matrox website and carefully follow their instructions to do a "clean uninstall/reinstall". You'll probably be fine after that. It's always best when installing to do it after completely removing any old card drivers, using the most basic, generic Windows video driver as a starting point. To make sure you don't have old trash lurking around, boot into windows in "Safe Mode" and check for duplicate display devices in your device manager under start/settings/control panel/device manager. In safe mode, you will see any duplicate devices and drivers that may have been left behind. Delete them ALL and reboot, allowing Windows to load its generic display driver during the restart, and start from there.

I'd still like to see a list of system specs, and an exact quote of the error message you have been getting. Good Luck